Bengaluru: The tardy pace of work on the construction of the railway underpass at Horamavu has badly hit normal life and school going children are the worst affected. For them, and of course their parents, the commute to and from schools has become a challenge.
Overgrown weeds covering the railway crossing and lack of a basic pathway to cross tracks, it is a harrowing experience for people who have to cross the railway track. Malini Srinivas’s seven-year-old son studies at a prominent school in Kalyan Nagar. His mother walks him from their apartment complex through the tracks, where the school bus comes to pick up children.
“The school was willing the reroute the bus to come from the other side and pick my son up. But I told them to pick him up here as it would be easier and my child would be able to catch up on a few more minutes of sleep before he gets changed for class,” Malini said.
However, she points out that this was not the issue. “The authorities should have constructed a foot over bridge as an alternative until this underpass work is completed. It is quite difficult to cross the railway tracks with so much of vegetation growing all around,” she said.
Abdur Raheem works at a fish stall close to the crossing. He claimed his business has dipped considerable since the work on the underpass began. He added that his children used to come and pick him up after work, but now they avoid due to improper lighting at the railway crossing.
“My kids used to come and pick me up after I finished work, but my wife avoids bringing them since the construction began as the railway gates are now permanently shut with no proper path or lighting. There is one big spotlight but that is not enough,” Raheem said.
People who live on the other side of the Horamavu railway gate near Gandhi statue and beyond the nightmare is going to be long drawn one. The authorities could perhaps help ease their distress by constructing a foot over bridge to facilitate the movement of commuters.
